Unexpected, Unwanted Visitor
by kensi54382
Summary: A man flies into Sara's life like a whirlwind, leaving her frightened and confused. Who is he? What does he want?
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

It had been a long night. Sara had worked a triple shift, trying to find the murderer of a family in Reno. She couldn't wait to go home and sleep. Russell had given her the next three days off so she could rest, and she fully intended to use that time to sleep. So when she headed home, she locked up and fell onto the couch, asleep the instant her head hit the cushion.

* * *

Sara woke to a banging on her front door, and she slowly climbed off her couch to answer it. She found Morgan there, impatiently waiting to tell her something.

"Morgan? What's wrong?" Sara asked her friend.

"You aren't going to believe this, but..."


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**24 Hours Earlier**

Sara and Morgan had just arrived for shift when Russell pulled them into his office in a rush. They sat down in front of his desk, confusion written on both women's faces. They didn't speak, just waited for their boss to talk.

"We got a dead family out in Reno. Nick, Greg and Finn are meeting us out there. Let's go," said Russell hurriedly.

The girls looked at each other, dread creeping up on them. They stood without questioning Russell and followed him to his car. He sped off and soon they had arrived at the crime scene. Nick, Greg and Finn were already there, working inside the house. There was blood all over the living room, but nowhere else in the house, so Morgan and Sara walked outside to begin working on the perimeter, hoping that there was some sort of clue as to who had done the crime.

"Hey Sara, do you know this man?" called Akers from near the front door.

Sara looked up, and her stomach dropped. She felt dizzy and grabbed onto the fence to support herself, but didn't realise how faint she was until Morgan had her sitting against the fence. She was waving a hand in front of Sara's face, and was calling her friend's name.

"Huh?" Sara blinked a few times and found that Akers and a paramedic had joined Morgan in front of her.

"Sara? What's wrong?" asked Morgan.

Sara tried to focus on her friend, but her vision kept blurring. The paramedic was at her side immediately, checking her pulse and trying to get her attention.

"Sara, can you hear me?" asked the paramedic.

"Yes, I'm okay."

"Can you see properly?"

"Yes." Her vision was back to normal, but she was still finding it hard to control her breathing and heart rate.

The paramedic checked her eyes with a penlight and then took a step backward, allowing Sara some room to breathe. Morgan was still next to her, a hand on her shoulder to steady her. Sara took Akers' outstretched hand and got up, taking a deep breath until she felt calm again. She took a look around Akers to check if the guy was still there, but he had disappeared, and Sara found that she felt a lot better without him there.

"Akers, who was that guy?" asked Sara.

"No clue. Said he saw you when you got here and that he needed to talk to you."

Sara nodded. "If he comes back, tell him I'm busy."

"You okay?"

"Yeah. I'm alright."

"Do you know him?"

"I don't think so." Sara shook her head, trying to get his image out.

Akers gave her a quick check with his eyes and then walked away so that Sara and Morgan could get back to work.

"Sara, what happened just then?" asked Morgan when they were alone again.

"I don't know, honestly. Sorry."

"For what? As long as you're okay, don't worry about it."

"Thanks. Can you not mention it to anyone though?"

"Sure." Morgan smiled at her.

* * *

Russell saw Sara walk past his office after returning from the crime scene an hour ago. He knew something had happened at the scene, but Morgan had refused to tell him anything, claiming that nothing had happened. They were just tired. But Akers had accidentally let slip that he was worried about Sara, and Russell intended to make sure that she was okay.

"Sara!" he called.

Sara turned around and saw him at his office door. She walked over. "Hey, what's up?"

"Come in for a minute. I need to talk to you."

She entered his office and sat on the couch, facing him when he sat on the chair across from her. "Sara, something happened at the scene tonight, I know it did. Don't deny it. What happened?"

"It was nothing. You can ask Morgan, she'll back me."

"She already did. I know something happened. Akers is worried about you, so talk to me."

Sara hesitated. She had thought over the man at the scene and thought she knew who it was. She wasn't sure if she should bring it up though.

"Sara?"

"There was this guy, at the scene. He told Akers he wanted to talk to me. I don't know why, but when I saw him, I got really dizzy, felt faint. I'm not sure what it was about him, but he seemed off somehow."

"Did you get to talk to him?"

"No. He was gone when the paramedic finally said I was fine."

"Why did you hesitate before telling me?"

"Well, I thought about it, and he seems familiar. I don't know why, or even who he is, but something just isn't right Russell."

"If I get a sketch from Akers, will you look at it?"

"Sure. Couldn't hurt, right?"

Russell smiled. "Thank you. What have you got so far?"

"Morgan and I found some trace at the back door, and I was just about to go see if Hodges was done with it yet."

"Anything else?"

"No."

* * *

"Hodges, do you have any information on the trace that Sara and Morgan found at the scene?" asked Russell.

"It was just plain dirt. Nothing special at all. Sorry." Hodges handed a report to Russell. "Nick gave me a trace sample from inside the house, in the kitchen. It turned out to be concrete, but not concrete from around Vegas. I don't know where it came from yet, but hopefully it'll give us something soon. I heard that Sara almost fainted out there. What happened?"

"Not your business Hodges. Thanks for this." Russell held up the report and then walked out, leaving a bewildered Hodges standing in the doorway.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Hey Morgan, Sara, I've got your results from Hodges," said Russell as he walked into the break room.

"Anything?" asked Morgan.

"No. It was just plain old dirt. But he did get something from the trace Nick found in the kitchen. It was concrete, but not from Vegas. He's trying to narrow it down."

"At least someone got a lead. Hopefully it will give us something to go on."

"Yeah. Sara, can I have a word?"

Sara stood up. "Sure. What's up?"

Russell led her to his office and shut the door behind them. "Akers gave me a sketch. Can you take a look?"

Sara took the paper from her boss. "It looks familiar, really it does, but I don't know who it is. Sorry."

"Don't need to apologise. If I can, would you like me to find out who he is?"

"Yes please, thank you." Sara gave him a smile and left the office.

* * *

"Hey Sar, what's wrong?" asked Greg.

Sara jumped. She hadn't heard anyone come in. "Nothing Greggo. Just concentrating."

"You sure? You seem really jumpy today."

"I'm just tired, I think. This case is weird."

Shift was almost over, and they hadn't made any progress yet. Hodges had been able to narrow down the concrete to somewhere in Oregon, but no-one had a clue as to what to do next. The concrete was the only lead they had, and they couldn't get any more specific with it.

"Yeah, Nick and I found some kind of dirt in the living room when we went back over it earlier, and it's just like the dirt you and Morgan found."

"How are we supposed to solve this case if we can't find any evidence?"

Greg shook his head. "I don't know."

"I'm guessing you heard about me collapsing at the scene?"

"Yeah. Are you alright?"

"Fine."

"Good."

Sara smiled. "You want to get breakfast later?"

"Sure. Can I bring Morgan?"

"Definitely."

"See you later then."

Sara waved goodbye and then returned to her work.

* * *

Morgan stopped at the lab that Sara was in, wanting to talk to her friend privately. She could see that Sara was working hard, having not noticed the coffee that Nick had dropped off at the end of shift, almost half an hour ago. Russell had told them to cancel their plans because they were going to have to work another shift. The day shift had refused to take the case, and everyone was annoyed at them for making them work longer.

"Hey Sara," said Morgan. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just tired."

"This case is going nowhere."

"I know. I've been going over all of our reports and the evidence, but there's nothing to find. My vision is getting blurry, that's how tired I am. You must be tired too."

"Yeah, I am. How are you doing after last night?" She knew that Sara understood the meaning behind the question.

"I don't know Morgan. He reminds me of my father, but it can't be. My dad's been dead for a very long time."

"I heard about that. I'm really sorry."

"Don't be. He deserved it." Sara hadn't meant for that to come out.

"But you're hurting over it."

"How can I not? He's still my dad, after all. Even if he wasn't the nicest person around."

Morgan grimaced. Her own family wasn't great, but at least they were civil around each other. "If you want to talk about it, you can come and talk to me, okay?"

"Thanks Morgan. I appreciate it."

"You're welcome. See you later."

"Bye."

* * *

The end of the day shift was approaching, and, although they had made progress on the case, it looked like they were going to be working the swing shift too. Sara and Morgan had finished off their reports and were attempting to have a break, but they weren't getting very far with everyone distracting them. Everyone wanted to go home, and everyone was exhausted.

"Ladies," said Hodges as he entered the break room.

"Hey Hodges," said Sara.

"You two make this coffee?" He pointed at the full coffee pot.

"Morgan did. It's nice." Sara took another sip from her cup. "And hot."

"And it's keeping us awake," laughed Morgan. "At least partly awake."

"Great," Hodges told her thankfully.

Hodges grabbed a mug from the cupboard and poured some coffee for himself, then took a seat at the table, turning his chair to face them. His smile told both girls that he was up to something, and Sara had a feeling she knew exactly what it was. Russell had told her that Hodges was prying again.

"Sara, what happened at the scene?"

"None of your business. Stop prying into other people's business," replied Sara in as nice a voice as possible.

"Please?"

"No Hodges. Leave me alone." Sara stood and put her cup in the sink, then walked out.

Morgan glared at Hodges. "Why can't you keep your nose out of other people's business? She clearly doesn't want to talk about it, and you shouldn't be pushing her."

Morgan got up and washed the two cups in the sink, and then left to find Sara.

* * *

"Hodges, why am I hearing from Sara and Morgan that you're prying in Sara's private business? After I told you to leave her alone?" asked Russell.

"Seriously? She dobbed me in to you?" asked Hodges incredulously.

"She didn't have to. I found her crying in the locker room."

"What? She was crying?"

"Yeah. Just leave her alone, okay? Don't ask her again."

Russell told him off again and then left again to find Greg and Nick.

* * *

Sara came out of the bathroom with Morgan. Her face was still wet from washing it after crying. The two girls walked straight into Hodges without seeing him there.

"Sorry," said Sara blankly as she kept walking.

"Sara, wait!" called Hodges.

"What do you want?"

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. I know I was overstepping the boundary when I asked about last night, but I just wanted to make sure that you were okay. Even if I don't seem like it, I do care about you. You're my friend."

"It's okay," smiled Sara. "I guess crying was a little over the top anyway."

"Friends again?"

"Friends again."


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Ladies, time to go home," said Russell finally.

An hour ago, Nick and Finn had found evidence that had led them to their killer; the supposedly dead daughter of the family that had been murdered had turned out to be alive and well, having run away from home three years before the murders. Brass was interrogating her now. Everyone was glad that the case was closed, and they were all looking forward to going home and sleeping.

"Thank you," said Sara as she packed up her bag and closed her locker.

"No problem. And I want you to take a couple of days off Sara. You've been working too hard lately. Time for a break."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Have a good break."

Sara thanked him and left, glad she was going home finally. As soon as she opened the door, she collapsed onto her couch, falling asleep instantly.

* * *

Sara woke to a banging on her front door, and she slowly climbed off her couch to answer it. She found Morgan there, impatiently waiting to tell her something.

"Morgan? What's wrong?" Sara asked her friend.

"You aren't going to believe this, but..."

"But what Morgan?"

"Russell figured out who that guy is. The one from the crime scene."

"Who is he?"

"Daniel Smith. Also known as Daniel Sidle."

"That can't be right Morgan. He's dead. Has been for thirty years."

"His prints and DNA say he is Daniel Sidle."

Sara started to feel dizzy again and she grabbed the door to keep herself upright. But this time, she couldn't keep her eyes from closing and her mind from going black as she collapsed. Morgan reached to grab her before she could hit her head and then called 911 for an ambulance.

* * *

"Morgan, how is she?" asked Russell.

"She's still unconscious, but the doctor said she should wake up soon. She isn't injured or unwell," answered Morgan.

"What happened?"

"I don't know. I told her about Daniel and then she told me that it wasn't possible, he had been dead for thirty years. Then she collapsed."

"Does the doctor know why?"

"He said it was most likely shock once I told him about the guy being Sara's father."

"Okay. Have you called Nick and Greg? They would want to be here for her."

"I called Nick, he's on his way down. Greg's already here."

"How did Greg know?"

"He was waiting for me in the car when I told Sara the news, so he followed the ambulance to the hospital."

Russell nodded. "Okay. You can go home if you want to, I'll stay with Sara until Nick arrives."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. You need rest."

"So do you."

"I can wait a little longer. Go home before shift starts."

"Thanks Russell." Morgan started for the door, but then turned back. "Tell Sara I said I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare her or anything."

"That's okay, but, yes, I will tell her, or have Nick tell her."

"Thank you." Morgan left this time, meeting up with Greg in the hospital foyer.

* * *

Nick walked up the pathway to the hospital doors, passing Greg and Morgan on the way. He gave them a smile as he headed into the hospital and over to where Russell was sitting.

"Hey Nick," said Russell.

"Hi, how is Sara?" asked Nick.

"She's okay. She just woke up. The doctor's checking her and then we can go back in."

"Is she sick?"

"No, it was just shock. Morgan feels bad for giving her the news."

"It's not Morgan's fault. I'm sure Sara will agree with me on that."

"She will."

Nick opened his mouth to talk to Russell, but closed it again when the door to Sara's room opened and a doctor walked out.

"Mr Russell?"

"How's Sara?"

"She's doing well. I want to keep her here overnight, but I think she'll be just fine. She's asking for someone named Nick Stokes, whoever that is."

"That's me," said Nick. "Can I go in?"

"Of course," smiled the doctor. "Just make sure she gets some rest."

"I will." Nick said goodbye to Russell and entered Sara's room. "Hey honey."

"Hi Nicky."

"Sweetheart, are you okay?"

"Yeah. I feel like an idiot. I must have scared poor Morgan."

"She's fine, and you are not an idiot. I don't blame you for fainting. I probably would have too, if I didn't knock out the messenger first."

"It can't be him Nicky, it can't. He's been dead for thirty years."

"Are you sure? I mean, you don't know what happened after you were taken into care, so maybe the hospital saved him."

"Maybe. I hope not, cause I really cannot deal with it."

"I'll be here, by your side the whole time babe. No matter what."

"Thank you. I love you Nick."

"I love you too babe."

* * *

"Can I go now?" asked Sara impatiently.

It was the next morning, and Sara was getting tired of waiting for the doctor to let her go.

"One more paper for you to sign, and then, yes, you can go home," said the doctor.

"Thank you." Sara signed the paper quickly and then jumped up and took Nick's hand. "Let's go Nicky, please."

"We're going sweetheart. You can relax." Nick kissed her head gently.

"I love you so much. Thank you for sticking by me again."

"Always babe. I love you too."


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Hey Morgan, can we talk somewhere please?" asked Sara softly. She had gone back to work straight away.

"Sure, what's up?"

Sara took a deep breath. "First, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you yesterday, or make you think it was your fault I collapsed."

"Don't worry about it."

"Secondly, I should tell you why you surprised me with the results."

"It's your dad."

"Not just that... he was supposed to be dead... when I was eight, my mum supposedly murdered him during a schizophrenic fit. I never believed that, but I did think he was dead. Now, he's alive, and I'm scared."

"I won't let him hurt you Sar," said Nick from the doorway.

Sara turned around and dropped her eyes, not wanting to see what he was thinking right then. She didn't want to be pitied, but she wanted him to still love her and take care of her. She jumped when she felt him put his arm around her shoulders, but relaxed again and turned into his chest, feeling his warmth calm her.

"Thank you," she whispered into his chest.

"Always babe. Do you want to get some breakfast after shift?"

"Okay. But, can we bring Greg and Morgan with us?"

"Definitely." Nick turned to their friend. "Want to come Morgan?"

"I would love too. I'll tell Greg and we'll meet you there." She smiled and walked out to find her favourite friend.

"Sar, why didn't you tell me about him?"

"So you can run away? No. I will not lose you."

"I would never run from you. What did he do to you that you hate him so much?"

Sara hesitated. This was something she never spoke about, with anyone. Not even Grissom knew the full extent of what her father had done to her. But something in Nick's gentle tone of voice and the in his eyes made her feel calmer and safer. Safe enough to tell the truth for once. To finally let it all out. But not here, not where everyone could easily overhear it, or pass it on to everyone else. She would not tell anyone unless she was somewhere comfortable.

"Nicky, do you trust me?"

"Yes, of course."

"Then trust me to tell you when we get home."

"Sure honey. Do you need to go home now? I can take you there and tell Russell later."

"No, I can wait till the end of shift. Just promise that you won't push me?"

"Never sweetheart. I love you."

"I love you too Nicky."

Nick embraced her and kissed her cheek, comforting her easily without a single word.

* * *

Six hours later, Sara opened her front door and led the way inside for Nick. They had left from breakfast with their friends early so Sara could go home and lie down. She wasn't feeling well, and knew she had probably pushed herself too much too quickly. But she wasn't going to admit to that just yet.

"Go get some rest honey. I'll bring you some aspirin," said Nick. He gave her a quick kiss.

Sara nodded her thanks and headed up the stairs to her bed, the one most recently made comfortable by Nick's presence every few nights. Her head was aching, and she knew she wasn't going to tell Nick anything now. He was going to have to wait again.

"Here Sara," Nick said as he handed her tablets and water.

"I think I might just go to sleep Nicky, sorry. I know you wanted me to tell you."

"When you feel better babe. I can wait."

"Thank you. I really do love you."

A smile playing on his lips, Nick said, "I know, so do I."

* * *

Sara woke up feeling a while lot better than when she had come home. She noticed that Nick was up already and got out of bed to follow the smell of cooked meat until she found him at the stove in her kitchen, wearing nothing but his shirt and underpants. She smiled as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Morning sunshine. Feeling better?"

"Much. And I think I'm hungry, now that I can smell food. What are you making?"

"Just some steaks. I figured that we could probably get something else on the way to work if need to."

"I don't think I'm going to go in today. I might take time off like Russell suggested."

"That sounds good. Want me to stay with you?"

"Yes."

"I'll call Russell and tell him."

"Nicky, I think I'm ready to tell you now."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes... Doesn't matter if I'm not. You should know if you're going to be with me."

"Alright."

"Can we go sit down somewhere?"

"Sure." He turned off the stove and moved the food then followed her to the couch.

"My dad, he was a bad person. Everyone that met him hated him. He treated my mother and I horribly, but it was too hard to tell someone what was happening. I was scared all the time, but especially when he started yelling at mum. Whenever he got angry, he would hit us, more so mum than me. But when I turned six, he started to hit me more and more, like I could never do anything right. Honestly, I thought that was normal. That everyone went through that and that it would get better soon. But it never did. And then when my mum killed him, or supposedly did anyway, the social worker that took me to foster care explained that what my dad did to us was not normal. She was the only person I trusted after that, especially when some of the foster parents I had were just as bad as my father."

"What happened after that?"

"Mum got sent to a psychiatric hospital for evaluation. They deemed her unfit to raise a child, even though she had never hurt me, had always been the one to protect me as much as she could. The judge let her off, said that as long as she got the proper care she needed, he wouldn't put her in prison. And he never did, but he also made it clear that we couldn't see each other, despite my social worker and neighbours and friends telling him that she wouldn't hurt me, that taking an eight year old child from the only person in her life was not going to turn out well."

"You haven't seen her since you were eight?"

"When I turned eighteen, my social worker told me that since I was no longer a ward of the state, I could do anything I wanted to. She gave the address of the home my mother had been put in, said that I was now free to see anyone I wanted to. Once I got a job and made enough money, I moved my mum to a better facility closer to home in San Francisco. Then, six months before I was framed for that murder last year, I moved her to a facility here in Vegas. She's only a twenty minute ride away now."

"Why don't we go see here then?"

"That would be nice. I would love for you to meet her." Sara gave him a grateful smile. "Thanks for listening Nick."

"Anytime sweetheart. Anytime." He kissed her and hugged her softly.


	6. Chapter 5

Sara pulled into a parking spot at the care facility she had put her mother in nine months ago. Getting out, she saw Nick looking around. He smiled when he saw some of the facility's residents outside, smiling and interacting happily with each other and with their carers.

"Hi, welcome to Family Care Mental Health Facility. I'm Amber. How can I help you today?"

"We're here to see Laura Sidle," said Sara.

"Of course. Follow me. Laura's in the art room at the moment. Does she know you're coming?"

"No, it was just a spur of the moment thing."

"Have you been here before?"

"She's my mother."

Amber stopped. "Sara?"

"That's me."

"Laura is going to be so happy. She talks about you all the time. I find that she is happiest when she sees you. Would you like to surprise her?"

"Yes. Thank you."

Amber nodded and walked off to speak to other patients. Sara led Nick to a small room full of bright artwork. A few people were millling about, but only one stood out. Laura Sidle was painting, her back to the door. A smile had spread across Sara's face and she now left Nick at the door to run to her mother.

"Sara?" asked Laura a moment later. "Darling, how are you?"

"I'm good mum. I want you to meet someone. This is Nick." Sara took her mum to the door.

"Hi Ms Sidle," said Nick. He shook her hand.

"Laura. And it's nice to meet you. You're Sara's friend?"

"That I am. Sara is my best friend."

"Don't forget the best part Nicky." Sara smiled. "He's my boyfriend, mum."

"Well, in that case, thank you for making my sweet girl so very happy. I remember meeting Mr Grissom, but he didn't make Sara smile like this."

"No, he certainly didn't," Nick said with a grimace.

"Promise me you won't hurt my baby."

"Never Laura. I will never hurt Sara."

Laura smiled. "Thank you." Then she turned to Sara. "He is a keeper sweetie, don't let him get away."

"I won't mum." They said their goodbyes, and Sara and Nick left to head back to work.

* * *

Sara had just walked into the locker room after shift when her phone rang. She was surprised to see that the caller ID was the care facility that her mum was at. She answered apprehensively.

"Hello?"

"Sara, sorry to bother you so early, but there's someone here to see your mother, and I've never met him before. He's not on the list of visitors you've given me," said the director, Anne.

"Anne, what's his name?"

"Daniel something. Give me a second... Smith. Daniel Smith."

"Don't let him near my mother," said Sara in a panic. "I don't want him going near my mother ever."

"Okay. What's wrong?"

"Please, just keep him there until I get there."

"Alright. Laura's safe though, you know that, right? We won't let anything happen to her."

"I know, Anne, I do. Thank you." Sara hung up and ran to her car, calling Brass on the way.

* * *

When Sara arrived at Family Care Mental Health Facility, she noticed that Brass and Akers were already there, waiting for her. She had filled Brass in while driving, and had asked for him to let her take the lead until she needed him.

"You okay Sara?" asked Brass worriedly.

"Yes. I just want him gone again, never to come back near me or my mother."

Brass nodded his understanding. He and Akers followed Sara into the office.

"Amber, right? I need to speak to Anne," said Sara straight away, recognising the young nurse from the previous day.

"Of course. She's in her office. Go straight through," Amber said with a smile.

"Hi Sara, thanks for coming. He's in my office. Who is he?"

"Someone that will never be here again." Sara didn't want to tell Anne the truth. "He's the cause of everything that's happened to my mother."

"Oh. Fair enough." Anne let them into the office and stood back.

"Why the hell are you coming back now? After all these years? You're supposed to be dead!" Sara felt the tears rolling down her cheeks.

Brass took over. "Daniel Smith, you're under arrest for faking your death and torturing people. Let's go." He gestured to Akers to cuff the guy.


	7. Chapter 6

Sara watched as Brass and Russell sat down across from Daniel. She felt like killing him for real, but knew that wasn't a good idea. She had tried to get in on the interrogation but Russell had firmly said no, told her that she was too close to this. She knew he was right, but it didn't stop her from being angry with him.

"Sara?" Nick asked from the door. "You okay?"

"I want to sit in."

"But that's not going to happen. You don't need to hear what he's saying. Why don't we go get some lunch?"

"Not hungry."

"You haven't eaten anything today. You went straight to deal with him. You need to eat."

"I don't want to."

"Then lets go help Morgan with the work you left her yesterday."

"Nicky, no. I want to know what he says. I want to know why he's been hurting my mother all these years."

"Babe, please just listen to me. It's not a good idea for you to be here."

"If that was your father, and your mother was being held in a care facility because she can't be in jail even though she never committed a crime, wouldn't you want to know why he's been pretending he's dead?"

"Of course I would, but Sara, I don't want you hurt. He's done enough of that already."

Sara turned to look at him. "He showed up at the crime scene to talk to me. I want to know why."

"What if I sit in? I can listen to what he has to say and tell you."

"You'll tell me everything?"

"As long as it doesn't hurt you."

Sara hesitated, but finally nodded. "Okay," she said quietly, clinging to him for a few minutes.

"Go help Morgan. Get into the work and forget about this for now." He kissed her and then left, appearing a moment later in the interrogation room.

* * *

"Now, Daniel, I don't understand why you would turn up to a crime scene, in the middle of the night, and ask for someone," said Russell, his voice calm but firm.

"Sara is my daughter. I wanted to see her."

"Sara's father is dead."

"No I'm not. I faked my death."

"Why?" asked Brass, liking that this guy seemed unaware that he was digging himself into a deep hole.

"I needed to get away from that bitch I married. She was unbearable."

"So to do that, rather than a divorce, you made it seem like Laura Sidle killed you during a schizophrenic fit?"

"Perfect, right?" he grinned.

"Yeah, until Sara saw everything and told the police that you were brutal towards her and Laura. She was the reason why Laura didn't go to jail."

"Well, that brat was smart. But I've been free for the last twenty years while Laura has been locked up in that place."

"Not anymore." Brass stood, waving to an officer outside the door. "Daniel Smith, you are under arrest and this time you won't get free."

The officer came in and put handcuffs on Daniel's wrists.

"Jim, can I have a minute with him?" asked Nick.

"Sure. Come on Russell, we have something else to deal with." Brass stepped outside and into the observation room, Russell right behind him.

"Who the hell are you?" asked Daniel smugly, like he was happy with what he had done.

"My name is Nick Stokes and I'm here on behalf of Sara Sidle. You see, I promised her I would find out why the hell you destroyed her childhood and left her without a mother. So, you aren't going anywhere until you tell me, and be warned, if you lie, I will kill you for real this time."

"It's not your business."

"Yes it is, since I don't want to see her cry again. She's your daughter, and she deserves to know the truth."

* * *

"Hey Sara," said Morgan, "you okay?"

"Not really. What can I help with?" asked Sara, wanting to not talk about her father.

"Uh, Greg just dropped off this report from Hodges. You can go through it if you like. Do you want me to get Nick?"

"He's busy. I'll talk to him later." She picked up the report and read it. "He got results this quick?"

"Yeah, said he was super special today. Yeah right. Hey, you know what would make you laugh? Seeing him being stupid. I don't know what happened, but it's actually quite funny."

"Alright, maybe later."

Morgan nodded, but she was worried. She knew that Sara was hurting over her father, and she wanted to help, but she had no idea how. _Maybe Greg does,_ she thought. She took out her phone, hiding it so that Sara wouldn't notice what she was doing, and texted Greg.

_Hey Greg, I need u 2 help me with something. R u busy right now? If not, can u come 2 the layout room? Act like u r here 4 me though._

She kept her phone out in case he replied, but shifted her focus back to the work in front of her. Sara was still reading the report from Hodges, and didn't seem to have noticed anything.

* * *

Greg took his phone from his pocket and paused the video he was scanning to check the message he had received.

_Hey Greg, I need u 2 help me with something. R u busy right now? If not, can u come 2 the layout room? Act like u r here 4 me though._

Confused, Greg reread the message, then thought he knew what it was about. He quickly sent a text back saying he was on his way and turned to Finn.

"Hey, can you take over for a few minutes, I just want to see if Sara's okay."

"Sure, give her a hug for me," said Finn, just as worried as everyone else was. "Make sure she's okay."

"Of course. Thanks Finn." He didn't wait to see if she said anything else, just left, trying to get to the layout room quickly without knocking anyone over in the process.


End file.
